Biscuit joiners are used in a variety of wood-working applications to cut slot-like recesses into the surfaces of wood members that are to be joined in facing relationship to one another. Typically, glue is applied to one or both of the recesses and a wood disc-like member termed a "biscuit" is urged into one of the recesses such that it projects partially therefrom. The other wood member is placed adjacent the protruding edge of the biscuit and the protruding edge is then urged into the recess of the facing wood member as the two wood members are forced against each other.
Traditional biscuit joiners typically incorporate some form of shoe assembly which houses the cutting blade. A fence assembly allows the wood member to be positioned thereagainst at a desired angle relative to the shoe assembly. A stick-type handle/housing is secured to the shoe assembly and encloses the electric motor of the tool. The rear portion of the handle/housing forms a generally cylindrical stick-type handle which the user grasps when using the joiner. The user exerts a force toward the wood member being cut which causes the cutting blade to be urged outwardly of the shoe assembly to thereby cut the slot-like opening in the wood member. One such type of joiner is presently offered by the assignee of the present application in an AC powered version, which has been very well received in the industry.
When adding a battery pack to a stick-handle type joiner, it is even more important to consider the ergonomics of the tool and how the additional weight of the battery pack influences the overall feel and comfort of use of the tool. Preferably the battery pack should not upset the overall balance of the tool or require additional effort to be expended by the user when using the tool just to compensate for the additional weight of the battery.
With traditional joiners having a stick-type handle, the precise orientation of the stick handle portion of the tool has been found to significantly influence the ease and comfort with which the joiner can be operated. In this regard, it has been found that orientating the stick handle relative to the longitudinal axis of the motor is an important factor in helping to achieve an even more balanced, positive "feel" during use of the joiner. Specifically, it has been found that if the stick handle portion of the joiner housing is offset laterally a small degree from the longitudinal axis of the motor, that a significant enhancement in the comfort and "feel" of the tool can be achieved. This is because the forward force applied by the user with the hand that is grasping the stick handle portion is applied even more directly along the longitudinal axis of rotation of the motor, and thus the main body portion of the tool.
Offsetting the stick handle portion slightly from the rest of the housing also enables the user to grasp the stick handle portion more forwardly thereon (i.e., to "choke up" on the stick handle portion) with his/her hand, thus enabling the user's hand to be placed closer to the overall center of gravity of the tool. These erogonomic improvements can help to significantly improve the comfort, balance and overall "feel" of the joiner, as well as to reduce the fatigue experienced by an individual when using the joiner over a prolonged period of time.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a biscuit joiner having a handle assembly which serves to place the hand of the user that is used to engage the ON/OFF trigger of the tool in an orientation which is even more comfortable and ergonomically efficient for the user. More specifically, it is an object to form the stick handle portion of the tool such that the user is able to exert a force, when using the tool, that is directed substantially along the longitudinal axis of the main body of the joiner. In this manner the force transmitted by the user's hand which is gripping the stick handle portion can be transmitted even more efficiently and comfortably when making plunge cuts with the joiner.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a stick handle type biscuit joiner having a handle that is laterally offset slightly from the main body portion of the joiner to increase the ease with which a user can grip forwardly on the stick handle. This would enable the user to grasp the joiner closer to its center of gravity, and thus further contribute to a positive, well balanced "feel" when using the tool.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a biscuit joiner having a handle assembly which helps to support the joiner on a planar work surface when the tool is not in use.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a stick handle type biscuit joiner which is powered by a removable, re-chargeable battery pack.